Flying Spirit, Eternal Flame
by PhoenixFirecat
Summary: I don't own X-Men, just a comic book and a membership on the X-Men website. Also, the actual X-men are mentioned later in the story. This, and the still to be typed part, are background so you can know WHY Leni goes to the X-men!!!
1. The Fires of Hope

"Great. Another boring day," sighed Leni as she walked up the steps to her school. Her name was actually Lenitra Thomson, but she preferred the name Leni.  
"Hurry up, Leni! We're gonna be late!" yelled Natalie. Leni had lived with Nat and her family for about four months since Leni had come to New York City.   
"Fine. Race ya!" Leni said as she and Nat sprinted up the steps of P.S. 119. Both Leni and Nat were freshmen at their school.  
The building was in the historic district of the city, or as Leni called it, "the fossilized city." Almost everything in the area was old, even the oak trees.   
As they entered the school building, Leni noticed Nat's other friend Karina Mathers. Karina was a tall junior girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes. In Leni's opinion, she was sickeningly popular, especially with the boys since she was also head cheerleader. She was wearing a tight top, short skirt, and high-heeled shoes like she always did. The only difference was that today, Karina was carrying a plastic, see-through purse, which she had never been seen doing before. To Leni, Karina was just another rich, snobby slut.   
"Hey Natalie!" yelled Karina, waving to Nat. Leni glared at her. "Oh, Lenitra, I thought you were going to fix your hair. Either it didn't work or it made your hair uglier."  
Leni could feel her anger start to rise, like a fire just lit. Karina had always found Leni's hair a great thing to poke fun at. Leni almost didn't blame her; it was unusual, but she liked it. Her hair was platinum blond from the top of her head to her ears. There, it turned to a golden blond, which went to her shoulders. From her shoulders down, Leni's hair was a flaming red.  
Her hair wasn't the only unusual thing about Leni's appearance. Her eyes were a bluish-green, the same color as the ocean. Most of the time her eyes would be that bluish-green, but occasionally, they would turn green. They would turn dark green if something upset her greatly.  
"Come on, Natalie. Let's not hang around her," Karina said with a wicked grin as she looked straight at Leni and put her purse back up on her shoulder. Leni's eyes drifted to Karina's purse, which contained a silver box or something that reflected the light easily.  
Karina grabbed Nat's arm and pulled her away, leaving Leni alone.  
As soon as she had thought they walked out of earshot, Karina whispered to Nat, "Why do you let that freak live with you?" Unfortunately her, Leni overheard Karina's comment.  
If any normal child had heard someone make that comment to them, they would have cried or else would have felt terrible. Leni didn't do either. She knew Karina was right, more than the junior even knew she was. Leni looked once at Nat and Karina's backs, then turned and started walked to her first class.  
  
As Leni neared the classroom, she began to smile. Her first class of the day was Art and she loved the class. Not only because she could draw well, but also her only true friend was in the class with her: Don Jacobs. He, like Karina, was a junior, but he was nothing like her. Don was nice to Leni and funny, too. He had blond hair and slate-gray eyes.  
"Hey Leni!" said Don cheerfully as Leni walked in the door. She smiled and walked to their corner in the back of the room. "What's up, firebug?"  
She smiled again as he called her by the nickname he came up with for her. Don knew what happened to her family, same with some of the teachers and Nat's family. But he knew something else about her that no one else did, except for Leni herself.  
"Not much. Karina Mathers ticked me off again," Leni said as she sat down by the window.  
"Hey, calm down about it. Don't want to scorch something, do you?"  
"Not really, Smokey."  
"The bear?" Leni laughed.  
"No. What are we doing today?" Leni asked.  
"Don't know, don't care as long as we aren't doing mosaics. I hated doing those!"  
"Hmm, I hope we're doing either origami or kirigami. I love Japanese stuff."  
"True. Wait, what was kirigami?" Don asked confused.  
"The Japanese art of folding and cutting paper," Leni explained.  
"Oh. Yeah."  
They continued talking, until the art teacher, Mr. Daryu, came into the classroom.  
  
Halfway through their lesson on Da Vinci's sketches, the PA system came on in the room.  
"Mr. Daryu, could you send Lenitra Thomson to the main office, please?  
"Certainly," said Mr. Daryu as the intercom was turned off. "Well, Leni, you heard them. You better get down there."  
Leni nodded as she stood up and exited the room. What did I do? She thought as she walked down the hallway to the principal's office.  
  
"What?!" yelled Leni, her eyes wide with disbelief.  
"Ms. Thomson, calm down. Now, tell me, is this your lighter?" repeated Mr.Canaldy, a little more calmly this time. He was a balding man of fifty-three. What hair remained was white. He pushed his glasses back up as he waited for Leni to continue.  
Leni looked down at the item in question. It was a small, silver Zippo lighter with a phoenix etched onto the surface. She knew it was hers, but was afraid to admit it. Finally, she decided to go ahead; it couldn't get worse than it already had, could it? "Yes, sir, it is. But..."  
"Did you bring it to school?"  
"No, sir. I don't know how it got here. I thought I had left it at home."  
"Hmm, I see. Well, do you know Ms. Karina Mathers?"   
"What's she got to do with this?"  
"It was her purse that was burnt."  
"Where was it?"  
"Her purse was found in the bathroom between the junior gym time and the freshmen gym time."  
Leni sat back in her chair, hardly believing that this was happening to her. And especially since it involved Karina, too.  
"Ms. Thomson, until this matter is cleared up, I'm afraid that you will have to be assigned after-school detention."  
"What about my lighter?" Leni looked down at it. The etched phoenix almost seemed to Leni like it was crying, the way Leni wanted to, but didn't.   
"You may get it from me after detention today. Just as long as you come by before four-thirty and make sure that it stays home after this. Deal?"  
"Yes." Leni nodded.  
"See you this afternoon then, Ms. Thomson," Mr. Canaldy said as Leni left his office.  
  



	2. Chapter 2

Note: Yes, The X-Men ARE in this chapter. I had to set the scene first. You remember Rogue's first episode? Didn't THEY have a lot with just Rogue? Before the X-Men?   
-*--*--*-  
  
Later, after school, Leni and other students sat in the detention hall. While the others were working on assignments, Leni stared at the detention moderator in a slim attempt at making the teacher nervous. Leni had this problem where she would stare, unblinking, at someone for a very long time. It usually helped her beat boredom, but only when the 'victim' responded in some way. This teacher was completely ignoring her. After awhile, Leni gave up and stared at the ceiling, which reacted the same way the teacher had.  
As she stared, Leni's mind began to wander. Primarily, she thought about the events of that day. My lighter was found by Karina's burnt purse...serves her right, the slut. Come on, think! I know it was on my dresser yesterday before I left for the arcade...I came back and it wasn't there. I assumed that Nat's mom put it with my candles, but it wasn't there either. Someone could have taken it...  
Leni thought over a list of possible suspects. She kept coming back to one person: Karina Mathers. Of course! Burn something of yours, blame it on someone else! I remember Nat saying something about Karina having come over yesterday. Leni concentrated on the way Karina had seemed that morning. Karina had seemed more stuck-up than normal. She had also been carrying the purse that was later found burnt in the bathroom. Her purse had a silver object inside...that looked...like...MY LIGHTER! "That little..." Leni whispered as the bell rang to let them out of detention.  
Quickly, Leni packed up her bag and ran down to the principal's office.  
  
"Mr. Canaldy?" Leni said as she peeked around the door.  
"Ah, Ms. Thomson! Come in, have a seat," said the man seated behind a large polished oak desk. Leni eased the door open and entered Mr. Canaldy's office.  
"Um, Mr. Canaldy, I came to pick up my lighter and I, uh, I think I know who framed me," Leni stammered as she sat down.  
"Hmm, first," he said, holding up a finger to silence the girl, "what is so special about your lighter, besides the intricate etching on it?"  
"My mom," Leni started as she lowered her head, "my mom gave it to me before she died." She bit her lip, hoping she wouldn't have to say anything more about her parents; it hurt her so much.  
"I see." Without saying more, the principal opened a drawer in his desk and produced a small silver lighter from the drawer's depths. He handed the lighter to Leni. She held it in her hand, drawing her finger over the etched phoenix, almost feeling its power. The power waiting to be freed...  
"Ms. Thomson? Were you going to tell me who you think is blaming you for this action against Ms. Mathers?" Mr. Canaldy's voice snapped Leni out of her thoughts.  
"Sir, you probably won't believe me, but," Leni paused, wetting her lips, before continuing, "I think Karina Mathers burnt her purse in order to get me in trouble."  
Mr. Canaldy sat back in his chair as he considered what to say about Leni's accusation. Leni suddenly felt uncomfortable either because of the chair or the tension in the room. The silence was deafening.  
"What would be her motive?" asked the principal after what seemed to Leni like an eternity.  
"Well, she hasn't liked me since I moved here. She could have done it as a way to get me in trouble so I would be outta her way."  
"What makes you think that she doesn't like you?"  
"Sir, she calls me a freak!" Leni exclaimed.  
"Is there anyone who could back that up?"  
"Yes, my friend Natalie, but..."   
"Yes?" Mr. Canaldy leaned forward.  
"Nat wouldn't say anything about this because Karina made her promise not to."  
"How?"  
"Well, Nat likes this junior on the football team that Karina knows and if Nat did anything against her, Karina was going to tell the jock. Then the jock's girlfriend would hear about it and utterly humiliate Nat."  
"Oh, so Nat's reputation is at stake," Mr.Canaldy said. "What about yours?"  
"Oh hey, my rep's okay, Karina can't hurt it any worse than it is already. I mean, it's bad enough I'm a..." Leni stopped. She had almost told the principal her secret. The secret only she and Don knew.  
"A what, Ms. Thomson?" asked Mr. Canaldy, lifting an eyebrow.  
"An orphan, sir." Leni lowered her eyes. Good save, but too close for comfort, she thought.  
"I see. Well, I'm sorry. Ms. Thomson, it's nearly four-thirty and I'm sure you need to get home."  
Leni nodded and stood up. She muttered her goodbye before she left, lighter in hand.  
  
Why does everything happen to me? Leni thought to herself as she pulled her books from her locker. Checking twice to make sure she had everything, Leni picked up her backpack and closed her locker door. The hallway was quiet, except for the echoing of her lone footsteps. Leni didn't care though; she was used to the quiet and the loneliness.  
She exited the building and started walking to the bus stop. She heard the clicking of someone's shoes, but ignored the annoying noise.  
"Lenitra! Hey freak! I'm calling you!" Leni turned around to see the one person she hadn't wanted to see, especially right then: Karina Mathers.  
"What do you want, Karina?" Leni asked. Normally, at P.S. 119, the teachers had told everyone to respect their upper classmen; however, Leni didn't feel like being polite to Karina.  
"I heard that you accused me of framing you!" Karina stated.  
"What are you talking about?" Leni asked, putting her hand in her pocket. As she did so, she felt the tape recorder she had brought for the history lecture. This will be interesting... Leni thought, pressing the record button. Please let the batteries be dead!  
"My purse! You know exactly what I'm talking about!"  
"Your purse? That ugly clear one you had earlier?"  
"Yes," Karina said, putting her hand on her hip. "Someone stole it, then burned it in the bathroom using your lighter."  
"How convenient. My lighter was stolen, too." From the look on Karina's face, Leni guessed she hadn't heard that small detail. Leni continued during Karina's hesitation. "When was it found?"  
"When my friends and I went to the bathroom."  
"During what class? Or can you remember?"  
"Listen kid," Karina hissed, stepping closer to Leni and lowering her voice, "I don't know want you're trying to pull, but who's going to believe you? It's new girl versus the popular girl. They're gonna listen to me first. So who are you gonna convince that I did it?"  
"Anyone who'll believe me." Leni said defiantly.  
"Well, sorry to say, but I made sure a long time ago that no one would dare stand up to me to defend you. Not even Natalie."  
Leni glared at Karina, anger rising like a hungry fire.  
"That's right, even your buddy 'Nat'. Face it, freak, no one will help you prove that I did it. Yes, I burnt my purse just to get you out of this school, out of my sight!"  
Leni stood there stunned and slightly triumphant. She had managed to have Karina confess without trying! An evil smirk started to form across her mouth.  
"What are you smiling about?" Karina demanded.  
"Oh nothing. Just this." Leni pulled the tape recorder from her pocket. A look of horror plastered itself to Karina's face.  
"You! How much...how long..." Karina stammered. She suddenly regained her composure as she grabbed Leni's collar. "If you even so much as show anyone that tape, I shall reveal what you are. What you truly are, mutant."  
Leni gasped. How could she have found out?! Leni suddenly felt completely sick as a group of people who had been watching the standoff gathered around.  
"Karina, what's going on?" a girl asked as Karina released her grip on Leni, who stepped back.  
"This freshman is trying to peg me for something she did."  
The situation quickly became hopeless for Leni as a boy grabbed her arms, holding her back. Leni looked at the faces of the people around her and recognized Don standing among them.  
"She's the one who destroyed her purse!" Karina said, pointing a finger at Leni.  
Leni glared at Karina, her anger full grown. She through herself forward in an attempt to break out of her captor's grip. Another boy caught her, as a third stood in front of Leni. He sneered at Leni as he drew his fist back.  
Pain exploded from Leni's stomach as the boy hit her with his first punch. The two boys holding her back let go so they could have some of the fun. Leni faltered as she stood, but was quickly knocked down as other people joined in on her torture. As she fought to remain conscious, Leni heard the vicious laughter of the other students. Her peers, who were all alike, people who were quick to gather against the unknown. Against those of the species Homo superior. Then everything went black.  
  
"Leni? Leni, wake up!" Leni slowly opened her eyes. She realized that she was lying face down on the concrete while someone was shaking her shoulders. She pushed herself up with more than a little pain as someone helped by pulling with one arm across her collarbone.  
"You okay?" Leni looked up to see Don's gray eyes and silver streams falling all around them.  
"How long was I out?" She said, shivering. It's so cold! The freezing rain had drenched her clothes and hair. Looking around, she noticed that only herself, Don, and a few crazy squirrels were the only beings in the school courtyard.  
"Almost an hour. You might want to get warmer before you freeze, firebug."  
"Yeah," Leni agreed. She concentrated on her powers as she felt the two bumps on her shoulders begin to grow. Leni paused as Don looked away. She knew that he really didn't wish to see her shoulder bones sticking out of her back.   
"I know you think I'm just odd, but a person's bones should NOT stick through their skin. Whether their broken or not," Don stated.  
"Hey, at least you don't hafta live with 'em!" Leni answered sarcastically as she continued with her current task, thinking about one thing: a phoenix. Sure she loved her wings, but the process in which they emerged was slightly disturbing. Slowly heat began to generate from her heart, spreading to her shoulders. Don turned around just as small flames appeared from the end of each of Leni's shoulder blades and grew. Within seconds, two flame colored wings had grown on Leni's back, making her look every bit like an odd, winged goddess.  
"You know, every time I do this, I can't help but think 'fallen angel'," Leni said shaking her head and folding her wings about herself. Both of them stood up and walked to find some sort of anti-rain refuge.   
"Leni, I gotta tell you something," Don said once they reached an overhang.   
Leni looked at him. "What?"  
"I...I think you should leave."  
"Wha...why?"  
"Your safety. Look, since nobody has the guts to stand up to Karina, I'm your only friend here. I can't always protect you. I couldn't even prevent you from getting beaten today!"  
Leni was silent. She what her friend said was true. She drew her wings closer as Don continued.  
"I do know some people who can help you though. A really good friend of mine lives with them in Westchester. All of them are mutants like us and are willing to help." Don pulled out and paper and pen and wrote an address down on the paper. "Here's where he is."  
The fire girl looked at the paper and nodded. She thanked him and began to walk off.  
"Take care, Phoenix!" Don yelled after her. When she had disappeared from his sight, he pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and dialed a number. After a few seconds, a familiar voice answered.  
"Hey Scott!" he said. "It's Don Gofrin...yeah, from NYC...hey, I got a new recruit headed your way. She should be there soon."  
  
A few minutes later, Scott Summers said his goodbye and flipped his cell phone closed. Adjusting his sunglasses, the brown haired boy turned around to face the other students.  
"So, vhat vas that about?" the other boy said in his thick German accent.  
"A friend of mine from NYC sent word that a recruit is headed our way."  
"Cool! So, like, what's their power?" asked the girl.  
"Her powers appears to be fire-related," answered a red-haired girl, who had just joined them.  
"Jean, I wish you wouldn't do that answering-the-question-as-I-walk-up thing. It, like, freaks me out!" the other girl stated.  
"Sorry, Kitty, but Professor Xavier just told me."  
"He's already got her on Cerebro?" Scott asked.  
"Yes. He says that this girl is under a lot of stress and is very angered by something," Jean Grey explained. "It's not too difficult to locate someone with that much emotion affecting their brain waves."   
"So, vhat are ve vaiting for? Let's go!" said the German boy as he turned.  
"Hold it, Kurt," Scott said, grabbing the back of Kurt's collar. "We should go back to the mansion to see what the professor wants us to do."  
"Aww! Come on, Scott!" Kurt protested as he was drug backwards to the senior's red-and-white sports car. As soon as the girls got into the car, Scott started the engine and began the short drive to the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters in Westchester County, New York.   
  
*Whoohoo!!! I'm finally done with Chapter 2!!!! Took me long enough!!! ^_^; oh well!!!! Don't know how long I'll take to do Chapter 3, but basically it deals with the X-Men and the Brotherhood battling for Leni (the poor child) and her fire powers becoming useful (sorta). So prepare yourself for....Friends in the Night!!!!"  
  



End file.
